This summer has been great for me in the motivation department. I have gotten back in the habit of going to the gym every morning before class (ugh… summer school), not eating late night snacks, and not grazing on food throughout the day. One thing I have noticed though is halfway through my first class in the morning, I get really hungry.
In the past, I have always turned to granola bars at about 10 a.m. I have a thing about buying granola bars from the store though- they can be really expensive and usually loaded with more sugar and extra ingredients than I need. By making granola bars at home, I am able to cut cost and throw exactly what I want into each batch. This batch has been one of my favorite yet: flax seeds, sunflower seeds, hazelnut meal, wheat germ, honey, and dried cranberries. Healthy, satisfying, and delicious.
This recipe is an easy no-bake granola bar that is as easy as toasting the dry ingredients, heating the wet ingredients, mixing together, and letting sit until cool. Not bad, right?
Like with most of my recipes, I highly recommend playing around. Got a favorite dried fruit? Throw it in! Want a nuttier flavor? Sub more kinds of nuts. The great thing about these bars is that it is really up to you in which direction you go. My only suggestion is that you stick to the amounts given. More ingredients + same amount of liquid= crumbly granola bar. These are adapted from Joyful Abode.
- 1½ cup oats
- ½ cup hazelnut meal
- ½ cup wheat germ
- ¼ cup flax seeds
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoon sucanat
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup dried fruit
- In the oven or a skillet, toast all the dried ingredients (except fruit) for 12-15 minutes until oats are slightly brown. While dry ingredients are roasting, heat liquid ingredients in a sauce pan until boiling, reduce heat and let simmer until dry ingredients are ready.
- Combine dried fruit and toasted ingredients. Finally, pour liquid ingredients over oat mixture and stir until every piece is well coated. Line an 8×8 pan with either wax paper or plastic wrap. Scrap mixture into pan and press down so that you have an even layer across the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool (I put them in the refrigerator.) Once cool, flip out of pan and remove plastic wrap. Cut into sizes you would like- I made 10 smaller ones.
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